KL Rahul got unequivocal support from captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid after three single-digit scores in the T20 World Cup. His slow starts have played a part in India’s poor Powerplay returns.

In 13 matches since the start of the Asia Cup, Rahul has averaged 27.33 at a strike rate of 121.03.

“I think in Rohit’s and my mind, there’s absolutely no doubt about who’s going to open for us,” Dravid said at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. “No, not at all (concerned). I think he’s a fantastic player and he’s got a proven track record. He’s done really well.”

“I thought he’s been batting superbly. These things can happen in a T20 game sometimes. It’s been tough, it’s not been that easy for the sort of top order batsmen. This tournament has been pretty challenging.

“We have a lot of conversations with our players. A lot of it is... it’s hard to get into exact details of what conversations you have with your players, but rest assured, I think both in words and in action, I think over the last year he (Rahul) knows he has our support. He’s known that.”

Dravid didn’t forget to highlight his innings in a warm-up game in the lead-up to the tournament. On Tuesday, Rahul spent a lot of time discussing technical issues with Virat Kohli after a net session in Adelaide.

“I thought he was superb in the practice game against Australia with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. It was a pretty good attack, and I thought he batted superbly that day (57 off 33). So he’s actually playing really well. Just hoping it all clicks together over the next three or four games.

“We know his quality, we know his ability, and he’s really well suited for these kind of conditions, these kind of pitches. He’s got a good all-around game. He’s got a very good strong back-foot game, which is obviously very much required in these conditions,” the head coach said.

Dravid said the team could afford a player in the top-order to bide his time and then play his natural game owing to the challenging conditions in Australia.

“In these conditions, maybe we are able to afford him that time, and like I said... we completely back him. We have no concerns about him... I know the impact this guy can make,” Dravid said.

“That’s one of the things, again, this tournament has shown playing in different parts of Australia. The grounds are so different. Certainly playing in Perth the other night where the boundaries were 80 yards. We come here, and it’s certainly different. The kind of shots you’ll play here will be very different to the kind of shots you’ll play at Perth...

“But I think the key word for me is adaptability and reading these conditions, these boundaries really well.”